Ires Reit said that it has decided not to replace one of the board nominees of former activist shareholder Vision Capital, as she was forced to step down as the investor’s stake fell below 3 per cent.
The largest private residential landlord in the State confirmed on Tuesday that the nominee, Amy Freedman, had tendered her resignation. Vision’s other nominee, Richard Nesbitt, remains a director.
“The nomination committee continues to review board composition. Given the board’s wish to reduce the size of the board, it is not their intention to replace Ms Freedman at the 2026 annual general meeting,” it said.
The move reduces the size of the board to seven members, including chairman Hugh Scott-Barrett and chief executive Eddie Byrne.
Toronto-based Vision, led by Jeff Olin, started a year-long campaign in April 2023 for a sale or break-up of Ires. It reached a truce 14 months ago that resulted in two candidates it put forward joining the Dublin-listed company’s board.
Vision owned about 5 per cent of the stock at the time.
Ms Freedman is an investment banker turned corporate consultant, while Mr Nesbitt previously served as chief operating officer of Canada’s CIBC Bank. However, they were part of a unanimous board conclusion last August, following a strategic review, that a sale or break-up of the company would not be in investors’ best interests.
Vision subsequently cut its stake in Ires, which has 3,734 residential units in Dublin, last September below 4 per cent. It reduced its holding further last Tuesday to 2.96 per cent, according to stock exchange filings.
That standstill agreement between Ires and Vision last year provided that Ms Freedman would step down from the board if the investment firm’s stake were to fall below 3 per cent.
Shares in Ires have rebounded almost 15 per cent so far this year to nearly €1.05, driven by falling European Central Bank (ECB) interest rates which have boosted investor appetite for property stocks.
Still, the stock has pulled back by about 5 per cent from highs reached earlier this month as investors digest the Government’s planned reform of rent controls.
